Thursday, June 16, 2016

How to Play Tennis Like a Pro: Tips From the World’s Top Players

Tennis players know, as with all sports, there’s always something more to learn. Who better to learn from than those many consider the very best in the world? In this week’s blog, we look at some advice from some of the top tennis players on the planet.

Roger Federer

Roger Federer has had a long career, much longer than anyone would expect any athlete to have. On top of that, he was consistently winning throughout much of it. He spoke with the Telegraph about what he does to stay on top.

First, he tries to cram as much play time in as possible. As an older athlete, he said “...maybe it’s easier for your body to keep on playing.” By not taking any downtime, his body—as long as it’s uninjured—is always ready to go. For many, this probably means playing throughout the year in an indoor tennis facility (like a dome!)

Roger also attributes his dominance to his style of play. “I do believe that when you’re playing offensive you have to do less reacting,” Federer says. If you ever watch him play, you will likely notice he is quick and often doesn’t relax to lay traps for his opponents. He hammers them hard to power those points onto the board.

Serena Williams

The William’s sisters turned the sport of Women’s tennis on its head. Serena Williams is ranked No. 1 in the world right now, and is even considered by many to be the world’s greatest athlete.

She appeared on Martha Stewart’s show to give Martha some tennis tips. The tips she gave there are better suited to beginners, but she made some great points. Much of Serena’s success is a result of the power she can put behind each swing, mentions the importance of a smooth and steady swing. “The key to a serve is your left hand…if you watch a lot of players, sometimes their serve goes off [because] their left hand comes down.”

The key to a smooth serve, according to Serena, is to keep your throwing hand from dropping down and pulling your whole body off centre. It is simple advice, but it is still useful for those that find their serves consistently pulling to one direction.

Milos Roanic

Canada’s tennis superstar Milos Raonic’s claim to fame is his powerful serve. In a YouTube video, he offers up some tips to serve like him. The video is a little hard to hear, so here’s a paraphrased highlight of his tips to a killer serve.

Keep your opponent thinking. Don’t always serve to the same place, you need to be able to vary it up and keep your opponent from knowing where the ball will be. Use the tools at your disposal to send the ball.

Another useful tidbit Milos mentions in the video, “You can lose a lot of points in a tennis match, and you can make a lot of mistakes… and still find a way to win a match.” In other words, don’t get discouraged when things aren’t going your way. The momentum can quickly switch the other way in tennis.

Tennis is a sport that can take a lifetime to master. I hope that some of these pro tips can help others to achieve the same success!